VallesCaldera.com – The independent news source about the Valles Caldera

In a Senate floor speech, New Mexico’s senior U.S. senator, Jeff Bingaman, promoted the legislation that he reintroduced last week that would bring the Valles Caldera under the leadership of the National Park Service (read this legislation here). Bingaman (also speaking for Sen. Tom Udall) submitted the following remarks into the Congressional Record:

Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce legislation that would transfer administrative jurisdiction of the Valles Caldera National Preserve from the Valles Caldera Trust to the National Park Service. I am pleased that my colleague from New Mexico, Tom Udall, is again a cosponsor of this bill.

For those not familiar with this area, the Valles Caldera in Northern New Mexico is one of only three supervolcanoes in the United States, the other two being Yellowstone, WY, and Long Valley, CA. Spanning more than 100,000 acres, the caldera contains lush and expansive grassland valleys, ponderosa pines in the foothills and mixed conifer forests in the higher elevations of the volcanic domes and peaks. Numerous cultural and archaeological sites are scattered throughout the landscape that provides quality habitat to elk, trout, golden and bald eagles, and myriad other species. In 1975, the Valles Caldera received formal recognition as an outstanding and nationally significant geologic resource when it was designated a National Natural Landmark.

More recently in 2000, the Valles Caldera Preservation Act authorized the Federal Government to acquire the property and established the Valles Caldera Trust—an independent government corporation led by a board of trustees appointed by the President whose mission is to provide for public access and protection of the Preserve’s natural and cultural resources. The Trust is also directed to manage the Preserve in a manner that would achieve financial self-sustainability after fifteen years.

While the individual board members have done their best to fulfill the original legislative directives, time has shown in my opinion that this management framework is not the best suited for the long-term management of the Preserve. These issues have been laid out at length in two GAO reports, during the hearing we held on this legislation in the 111th Congress, and in previous statements I have made on the subject.

In weighing the various alternatives, the conclusion was reached that management by the National Park Service—an agency with a mission of protecting natural, historic, and cultural resources while also providing for public enjoyment of those resources—is more appropriate for the long-term future of the Valles Caldera. In my view, it would also best serve the public’s desire for increased public access, balanced with the need to protect and interpret the Preserve’s unique cultural and natural resources.

Senator Udall and I first introduced this legislation during the 111th Congress, during which time the bill received a hearing in the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and was reported out favorably by that Committee. The reported legislation, which is what we are introducing today, incorporated the many comments we received during the hearing process. This includes improvements to the provisions on hunting and fishing and cattle grazing as well as changes made based on recommendations by tribal governments. Other stakeholder comments, including those from the friends group, Los Amigos de Valles Caldera, led to modifications that will ensure the ecological restoration of the Preserve remains a priority under Park Service management. I also appreciated the valuable comments we received from the staff at the Valles Caldera Trust who remain steadfast in their commitment to the highest management standards at the Preserve.

Beyond these changes, however, the original framework and intent of the legislation remains the same. The existing character of the Preserve would be maintained and protections for tribal cultural and religious sites would be strengthened. The Park Service would manage the Preserve to protect and preserve its natural and cultural resources, while increasing public access and continuing to permit hunting and fishing and grazing. The National Park Service would also establish a science and education program similar to the highly successful program created by the Trust.

While the full Senate was unable to take action on this bill during the last Congress, I remain hopeful that we will find an opportunity during this one to bring it before the Senate for consideration. Public support in my State remains very high for the Park Service to manage this unique resource, and it is my hope that the enactment of this legislation will allow more Americans as well as future generations to enjoy this special place.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

A legislative clash regarding the future of the Valles Caldera has emerged in Washington as two bills have been introduced in the U.S. Senate that would have starkly different outcomes for the Jemez Mountains: one would transfer the Valles Caldera National Preserve to the National Park Service, while another would entirely eliminate all federal appropriations for the Valles Caldera if it remains as part of the Department of Agriculture, placing the Preserve’s viability in immediate danger.

The first bill, reintroduced yesterday from the previous Congress by New Mexico’s U.S. Senators, Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, would dissolve the Valles Caldera Trust and designate the Valles Caldera National Preserve as a unit of the National Park system. The legislation, S.564, once again titled the “Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act,” was read on the floor of the U.S. Senate yesterday and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which Bingaman chairs.

The Bingaman-Udall legislation, which you can read by clicking here, is identical to the marked-up Valles Caldera-NPS transfer bill that was unanimously approved by the Senate Energy Committee last August after the committee held hearings. Last year’s bill died in December after it was inserted as the keynote item into a large omnibus public lands bill that never came up for a vote in that month’s lame-duck session of Congress.

If it passed, the Valles Caldera would not become a national park. Rather it would be America’s 21st national park preserve, a designation designed to give certain NPS units an exemption from the Park Service’s usual rules that prohibit hunting and fishing — traditional activities on the Caldera that are explicitly protected in the Bingaman-Udall legislation.

The second Valles Caldera-related bill introduced in the Senate this month — S.475, the “Enacting President Obama’s Recommendations for Program Termination Act,” introduced by Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn (R), would halt all federal appropriations for the Valles Caldera Trust (among many other federal programs) immediately. The bill states that “no Federal funds may be expended for the Valles Caldera of the Department of Agriculture,” and “any funds appropriated to or unobligated by the program shall be rescinded and returned to the Treasury.” Bingaman and Udall’s bill would thwart Coburn’s bill in the context of the Caldera by removing the Preserve from the auspices of the Agriculture Department. Coburn’s bill has been read on the Senate floor and has been referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Bingaman and Udall announced the reintroduction of their legislation in a joint news release yesterday:

The Senators today introduced legislation that directs the Park Service to take over management of the Valles Caldera in a way that protects the Preserve’s natural and cultural resources. Hunting, fishing, and cattle grazing would be permitted under the bill. Additionally, the measure strengthens protections for tribal cultural and religious sites and ensures access by pueblos to the area.

Bingaman and Udall first introduced their legislation last year, following a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) that said the Preserve is at least five years behind schedule in the development of an effective management control system and that the requirement to achieve financial self-sustainability by 2015 is the Trust’s biggest challenge and will be difficult to achieve.

A separate National Park Service study, which was requested by Bingaman and Udall, determined the Valles Caldera meets the high criteria for inclusion in the National Park System as a National Preserve. In particular, the report highlighted the nationally significant geologic resources found in the area.

“The Valles Caldera is one of the most spectacular places to visit in New Mexico. I believe it belongs within the National Park Service, which has a long history of managing our nation’s most special natural resources,” Bingaman said.

“By utilizing the resources and skills of the National Park Service, I believe the Valles Caldera National Preserve will continue to prosper as a natural wonder full of significant geology, ecology, history, and culture,” Udall said. “Park Service management is the next critical step in preserving this national treasure for future generations. I look forward to working with Senator Bingaman and all the stakeholders who care about the Caldera to accomplish this important goal.”

The first calls to bring the Valles Caldera into the National Park System were in 1899. In four separate studies throughout the next century the Park Service found that the area was suitable for protective status under its management. But it wasn’t until 2000 that Bingaman, former Senator Pete Domenici and then-Representative Udall were successful in acquiring the property for $100 million. The law also established an experimental management framework where a Board of Trustees would manage the Preserve as a working ranch with public access, with the goal of becoming financially self-sustaining by 2015.

Last year, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the legislation, clearing it for full Senate consideration. Unfortunately, there was not enough time in the session to consider it. The bill will once again be referred to the Energy Committee, which Bingaman chairs.

The newly-reintroduced Valles Caldera National Preserve Management Act stipulates the following:

• Hunting and fishing “shall be permitted” under NPS management of the Caldera
• Grazing of livestock “may” be allowed to continue, “to the extent the use furthers scientific research or interpretation of the ranching history of the Preserve”
• Immediately upon passage the Secretary of the Interior will have sole management responsibility of the Preserve. Within 180 days of passage, the Valles Caldera Trust will be terminated, at which time the Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000 will also be repealed (but this 180 period can be extended if the Secretary of Agriculture “determines that the termination date should be extended to facilitate the transitional management of the preserve”). During the 180-day interim period, “the Preserve shall remain open to public use”
• The NPS “may coordinate the management and operations of the Preserve with the Bandelier National Monument”
• A comprehensive management plan (which has never been prepared by the Trust) will be produced within three years
• The preserve’s universally-acclaimed science and education program will be continued until the aforementioned management plan is prepared, at which time the NPS will establish a new science and education program
• The feasibility of creating a Caldera Rim Trail (inside only the boundaries of both the Preserve and Santa Fe National Forest — not on portions of the Caldera Rim owned by Santa Clara Pueblo) will be studied within three years of passage
• The NPS may establish a science and education facility outside of the boundaries of the preserve (enabling the continuation of the VCNP’s science and education center in Jemez Springs)
• No roads or motorized buildings will be allowed to be constructed, nor will motorized access be allowed, on the Preserve’s many volcanic domes above 9,600 feet in elevation or 250 feet below the top of the dome, whichever is lower, except for administrative purposes or emergencies
• The NPS will ensure the protection of traditional and cultural sites in the Preserve (as well as access to these sites by pueblo members) and may “temporarily close to general public use one or more specific areas of the preserve to protect traditional cultural and customary uses”
• The boundaries of the Santa Fe National Forest will be modified to exclude the preserve
• All Trust employees will be retained for at least 180 days after the passage of this legislation, at which time the NPS may hire them on a noncompetitive basis for comparable positions at the Valles Caldera or elsewhere in the NPS or Forest Service in New Mexico

Here are some links to news coverage of the Bingaman-Udall legislation:

Santa Fe New Mexican: “Local News In Brief — N.M. senators renew Valles Caldera proposal”

Albuquerque Journal North: “Senators Make Another Push”

Valles Caldera National Preserve staff conducted three public meetings within the past week in which they unveiled:

• Alternatives for a proposed public use and access plan (PUAP) that would expand public access to the Preserve

• Alternatives for landscape restoration and management for the Preserve in the context of the Southwest Jemez Mountains Collaborative Forest Restoration Project, a $40 million grant that was awarded by the Department of Agriculture to the Preserve and the Santa Fe National Forest last year

The public use and access plan alternatives focus on a vital question to the future of the Preserve: where to construct a permanent visitor center. One alternative features a visitor center at the current location of the Banco Bonito Staging Area, which would rule out any scenic vista from the building, but would remove any potential eyesore caused by a visitor center being built in the Valle Grande. Another alternative (the “Entrada del Valle” option) features a visitor center in the vicinity of the existing “Missing” movie set in the Valle Grande, and a final alternative (the “Vista del Valle” option) would have the new building constructed on a slope above and to the south of Highway 4, 1.5 miles to the east of the current Preserve gates.

The “Entrada del Valle” option would be “uniquely suited to use photo-voltaic development to return 100 percent of its energy needs — including an electric-powered fleet — back to the existing power grid,” according to the VCNP.

All plans call for the removal of the current Valle Grande Staging Area next to Cerro la Jara, and an end to the current interim recreation program.

The PUAP alternatives also deal with another key issue regarding public access: whether the public should be permitted to drive private vehicles around the interior of the Preserve, or if a shuttle service (similar to that which currently exists at the Caldera) ought to serve as the primary means for visitors to access the backcountry of Northern New Mexico’s collapsed volcanic crater.

However, according to information presented by Preserve staff at last week’s public meetings, many key issues with regard to public access issues will not finalized by these alternatives. Documentation distributed at the meetings indicates that many future actions would be guided by the public’s preferred alternative, but “may require additional site-specific planning and analysis prior to implementation.” These actions include:

• Transportation system
• Shuttle system or parking
• Campgrounds
• Recreation facilities: trailheads, fishing access, picnic areas, and overlooks
• Trail system
• Additional non-motorized access: providing additional points of non-motorized access along the Preserve’s perimeter
• Additional staging/visitor contact areas
• The development of equestrian facilities and programs
• The development of primitive education and ecotourism

You can learn about the newly-unveiled public use and access planning alternatives (and provide feedback on them) at the official government Valles Caldera National Preserve web site by clicking here. Preserve management will be accepting comment from members of the public regarding their opinions on these various options at their site through March 31.

Additionally, the public is invited to submit comments regarding the Preserve’s alternatives for the restoration and management of the natural resources throughout the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The range of alternatives includes taking no action, as well as two alternatives geared toward restoring and managing forest, grasslands, shrubland and riparian resources. You can learn about (and comment on) these alternatives by clicking here.